Call for Papers
First Announcement
“Financing for Climate Change - Challenges and Way Forward”
August 2008, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Background

The term ‘Climate Financing’ describes the challenge that the contemporary topic of climate change presents in context of financial resources required to cover the cost of adaptation, mitigation and technology. Both the urgency of climate change issues and their complexity require innovation and alternative thought in financial mechanisms to mitigate and adapt to its long and short term impact. In fact, alternative views on climate financing is increasingly seen as an effective mechanism to tackle the adverse impact of climate change as usual methods of development financing do not seem to work efficiently enough to generate funds particularly for climate change programmes.

What are the specific features of ‘Climate Financing’? The market mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol have created a new source of financing for projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Wind power, biomass, energy efficiency, landfill gas utilization, and forestry are some of the sectors that are benefiting from the availability of climate change finance through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), Joint Implementation (JI), and emerging national schemes. While these have been used in a wide range of programmes, their effectiveness and application is also being questioned. Moreover it is estimated that the costs for developing countries of adapting to climate change will be at least $50bn each year, and far higher if greenhouse-gas emissions are not cut rapidly. This calls for massive generation of additional resources but additional finance for adaptation must not come out of existing aid commitments. Adaptation and mitigation finance cannot be re-branded or diverted from aid commitments, and must be reported systematically and transparently. Moreover, the financing of innovation and adaptation in terms of technology is essential for achieving low-carbon economy.

Ten years since the Kyoro protocol, any significant steps to make sure that climate change adaptation, mitigation and transfer of technology is financed in a way which benefits the affected countries and communities sustainability and allows them to decide on how climate adaptation and mitigation programmes should be financed and implemented. Therefore what will be the method of financial mechanisms in Post-Kyoto regimes as far as market-based carbon reduction is concerned? Should it be traditional approaches (donor support) or should there be alternative and innovative technologies of financing to save the planet?

The intended conference will discuss both traditional and innovative approaches for financial mechanism relating to climate change adaptation, mitigation and technology. It will cover different dimensions of financial mechanisms e.g. ethics, justice, philosophy, politics, commitments and diplomacy involved in climate financing. Moreover present financial actions and its implication to adaptation, mitigation and technology will also be the major highlight of the conference. The conference will bring together academicians and researchers as well as managers and planners from government and private sectors across the globe to participate in the ongoing discourse and present their findings and opinions to find out sustainable Climate Financing options to ensure the environmental sustainability and ecological justice.